Ask A Long-Winded Actor!
Category: Quiz/Survey

Well, you sent in your questions - or some people did anyways - and I answered them! In as many words as possible, with some occasional grammatical and spelling errors left uncorrected by the proof-reading Olympiads at the world-famous New York Times (thanks, guys!).

If you want to read them, here's the link!:

Ask a Long-Winded Actor!

When you get there, there's also a link to Bobby Canavale's answers, which are shorter and more charming and frankly more readable than mine. Yay, Bobby! He's an awesome guy.

There's more to come so make sure to visit again in the near future, when I'll be blahgging about what it's like to lose half your audience a night, and the fantastic collection of vermin in my apartment now that I have no house pets to drive them away! Hooray! Thanks for stopping by and see you soon!

Currently listening : Woman is Sweeter

11:42 AM - 10 Comments - 15 Kudos - Add Comment

Ask An Actor! and Why Nazis???
Category: Life

Hi, folks!

So coming up next week I'm going to be doing something kind of weird that I've never done before, with a friend of mine, the very fine actor Bobby Canavale. We will be answering questions from readers of the New York Times through their website.

People submit questions for us about what we think about things like, well, I guess acting, for one. And Show Biz. And the Teau Knees. Maybe someone will ask for tips on applying a putty nose. Or about how we learn all those lines. Or about what we think about the global grain shortage. Or about whether we've ever met Cheets or Stokes. (Yes and yes.)

Anyway, who knows? It's up for grabs! Ask away!

Anyway, the link for it is here: Ask an Actor!

That's not really what it's called but...eh.

(Actually, I recently received a fan letter from a high-school teacher in Blibbidyblop, TX who said she was submitting one question to famous peoples all over the country and compiling them into a giant book for her students: "What do you think is the most serious problem facing our country today and how would YOU fix it?" I wanted to write back that I thought maybe it's really serious when our schoolteachers are asking show biz actors from pretend-o-land to help educate their students by giving their opinions on anything at all. And that I might solve it by answering her letter really sarcastically, thereby putting an end to all this foolishness. But I didn't because I realize that it's dangerous to alienate your fans. DANGEROUS!)

Also, on a totally unrelated note, today I received TWO (2) whole friend requests from TWO (2) different super-sad neo-nazi teenagers! One was a girl from Alabama and the other was a boy from Yugoslavia! How random and bizarre is that?!? I was SO tempted to write to the American girl and ask her what in the name of all the Jews and Blacks and Gaze could have possibly compelled her to write to ME?!?!? I didn't, though. I just majorly denied her. Mainly because the last thing I think I have time for in my life is to engage a sad teenage racist on MySpace. I dunno, just seems kinda, um, boring.

But anyways, can you believe?!? Weeeeeeeeeeeird. Anyway, if anyone here is thinking about being a nazi for any reason, I have to strongly advise against it because then we cannot be friends since I have Joo and Black and Ghae and Spanish ie: catholic blood in me. So, you know, bummer.

xoxo NITE!

Currently listening : The Creek Drank the Cradle By Iron & Wine Release date: 2002-09-24

10:50 PM - 27 Comments - 40 Kudos - Add Comment

The Most Fun I've Had At A Rock Show Ever! With Pickchurz!
Category: Music

OMG, I had the BEST time today! I got to host a benefit rock show for 826NYC, which is a terrifically kewl organization that helps kids learn to write (they have bases all over the country in Seattle, San Francisco, blah blah...look 'em up! It was started by Dave Eggers and the McSweeney's people). Four whole bands played, and not one member of any of these bands is over 16 years old. In fact, they're even younger than that, I think. And they have the best bands names of anyone ever anywhere. This was the awesomely groovy line-up:

Toxic Muffin (how great is that name?!?), Tiny Masters Of Today, Care Bears on Fire and Smoosh.

The best bands names ever.

People have prolly heard of at least a couple of these bands, especially Smoosh, who're pretty popular and tour with all kind of big famous rock myoozishins, and I had heard of them and liked them a lot, but man was it ever fun to see them all play live. Here are some pics: Also, I am a terrible photographer.

Toxic Muffin (They were the surpise hit of the day. They weren't scheduled to play, and they started the show off by blowing everyone's minds. the lead singer is this eight-year-old who handles the mic like Eddie Vedder. Crazy.):
....">

Tiny Masters Of Today (they did a MIND BLOWING cover of Jump! You know, that rap song "Jump up Jump Up And Get Down!" The girl, Ada, did this crazy high pitched thing with her voice: "Bweeeeeeeeee! Bweeeeeeeeee!" Like on the original record but with her voice. It KILLED.)
..">..">

Care Bears On Fire (They were super duper terrific, and their drummer, Izzy, had the best vest i have ever seen. They did a song called "Baby ANimals" that KILLED me. Also, the cover they did of "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" was rock 'em sock 'em.)
..">..">..">

Smoosh! (Their drummer, Chloe, is mesmerizing. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She brutalized those drums. BRUTALIZED THEM. They were great.)
..">..">
..">Here she is, brutalizing the drums. DIED. She was so good. they were so good. The whole show was excellent.
Here's Izzy and myself doing the raffle drawing, and you can see her awesome fuzzy vest better in this picture:
..">

Quite amazing, and I won't say anything really about how kewl it is because they're so young. Everybody says that and it's maybe irritating to them at this point. But it is, very impressive, and their parents seemed very smart and nice and loving and decent as well. So probably none of them will turn into Jimmy Page and go wackadoo rock star looney on us. Let us hope...

Anyway, I had such a good time and was so psyched to be able to host todays show, and hopefully I'll do a lot more for 826NYC, because they are groovy and great. I hope they made a lot of money today. YAY!

Currently listening : Free to Stay By Smoosh Release date: 06 June, 2006

9:07 PM - 10 Comments - 18 Kudos - Add Comment

New York Magazine 21 Kwesschins - and an update on the vile birds.
Category: Pets and Animals

Here's a thing I filled out for New York Magazine's online feature, 21 Questions. They ask New Yorkers to fill out these questionaires and some of them are quite hilarious. I gave it a shot. So check it out, if you like! YAY!

NY Mag Daily Intelligencer: 21 Questions

The only thing is, when I filled it out, I hadn't yet driven up to a friend's house in the country as I did this past holiday weekend. It was gorge and peaceful and we saw gamboling deer and ate delish fried chicken and went swimming in a big pond and had lots of wynez. It was superb and lovely and now I'm back and everything is insane again.

Oh! and mysteriously, one of those disgusting baby pigeons has somehow disappeared! WAAAAAAAAAAA! I didn't see any avian corpses anywhere, so I'm hoping it got swallowed whole by something else equally horrible and didn't suffer. Even though truly, I am not kidding, they are the most vile things ever. Even my friend Annie agreed - and she's incredibly decent and kind, unlike myself - they are entirely monstrous. The other one doesn't seem to be doing so well, either. Therefore, let us pray...

Currently listening : Honey from the Tombs By Amy Millan

1:10 PM - 18 Comments - 28 Kudos - Add Comment

To The Other Shore...or, Wow.
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

What a week! What a year! OMG, crazy. Crazy times.

First of all, Hi, everybody! It's been ages since i blahgged and I think it's because life has been so action packed and intense and being in the midst of everything, the last thing one wants to do is sit down and blahg about it. It takes time and perspective to bang out these incredibly important literary nuggets of hyper-truth, man.

Second of all, THANK YOU to everyone who wrote and sent their well-wishes and congratulatory comments about our closing and subsequent award nominaciones! Thank you very much, indeed. It's incredibly exciting and gratifying and wonderful, and I really appreciate everyone who wrote to say "right on." It turns out "The Coast of Utopia" is the most nominated straight play in Tony history with 10 nominations, which is pretty astounding. The experience itself was enough. It really was. But to have it end with such a bang is really just a mind-blowingly kewl affirmation of we all feel already about this experience.

We closed on Sunday, May 13, and it was an emotional and overwhelming thing, let me say that right now. Having spent the better part of nine months together as a company, coming to work every day to do these beautiful plays written by arguably our greatest living playwright, having to say good-bye was weird and scary. It was a combination of relief, sadness, excitement, exhaustion and sheer terror at what the hell we were going to do with our lives from now on. Having to say good-bye to these characters and their world is even harder, I think. There's a softball team and gatherings and celebrations and parties and things where we all know we'll see each other again. But these characters we were playing, and these words we got to say every night, those things are part of the ether now. They're history for us, litchrally. That part is incredibly difficult.

I don't think any of us has ever had a job that lasted from September to May before, so that combined with what we were actually doing made it the experience of a lifetime. A trilogy of plays, performed in repertory, with 44 actors including 8 kids and an exploding horse, 600 costume pieces, 137 wigs or something crazy like that, 9 marathon performances, Tom Stoppard, Jack O'Brien, Lincoln Center Theater...all of it is just too much. I guess that's why I haven't written too much about it lately; there doesn't seem to be a way for me to articulate the importance and impact of the experience on my life without sounding impossibly assy. And anyway, as Jack said on closing night at the party after the show, "Do not talk about this experience to anyone anymore. They won't get it, and they'll hate you for it." He was partially joking, but I know he's right in one sense. There's no way to describe what it was without falling depressingly short of the actual thing. It defies my abilities. As Tom has Turgenev say in "Shipwreck," "Words stagger after, hopelessly trying to become the sensation."

I will say this, however: things like this almost never happen, and if they do they happen once or twice, maybe, in an actor's life. Most of an actor's career, or at least most of mine anyway, is spent making decisions based on what will do the least amount of damage. It's a series of compromises occasionally interrupted by something wonderful. Very rarely do we get to say we are a part of a bona fide work of art for the ages. And even more rarely is that work of art made by a team of collaborators all working at the very top of their game. Every single designer, actor, technician and crew member knew they were making something historic and beautiful and never before seen. It was a privilege and a thrill and an honor to be a part of this thing, and I'm not sure any of us know quite how it's going to shape our lives from here on out. It's natural, and realistic in fact, to expect that everything else will pale in comparison.

Obviously, I'm going to miss it terribly. It came at a crucial point in my life and rescued me in a lot of ways, taught me things about myself and about making art, but most importantly about living an artful life. As Herzen says at the end of "Salvage," "It takes wit and courage to make our way while our way is making us, with no consolation to count on but art and the summer lightning of personal happiness."

We like to talk about how plays give us a way to contextualize and lend meaning to the human experience, but we don't always HAVE that experience while we're doing them. A kind of collision between life and art that is at once grandly extravagant and minutely personal. That's what it was for me, and continues to be even though it's over. Those of us who got to share in this experience are forever linked by it, and gratefully so. I so adore these people. All the dinners, going out after doing the marathons because we were so hyped up and energized even after 12 hours of insane performing, the hootenannies at Ethan's house, the cabaret night where everyone got up and sang with the band, the extra-curricular activities, the night Bill Clinton came and got a standing ovation from the audience at intermission, the week Billy was out sick and Scott Parkinson did the marathon and hit it out of the goddamned park, Richard Easton making the greatest comeback in theatrical history, the friendships and poker games and the whole fuckin thing...it was a way of life, the culmination, and deconstruction, of everything I've learned and done up to this point and I can't believe how lucky I was.

We make our whole lives saying good-bye. As soon as we get comfortable, we have to kill the baby. What becomes precious to us, we have to let go of, every time. [Insert obvious metaphor about life here.] But that's part of why we love it, I suppose, or at least it's part of the beauty of it. One of the most stunning speeches in the entire trilogy is about this very sort of thing. It comes during a scene toward the end of "Shipwreck" when Herzen has conjured Bakunin and is talking to him about the death of his son:

"We don't value the lily less for not being made of flint and built to last. Life's bounty is in it's flow, later is too late. Where is the song when it's been sung? The dance when it's been danced? it's only we humans who want to own the future, too. We persuade ourselves that the universe is modestly employed in unfolding our destination. We note the haphazard chaos of history by the day, by the hour, but we think there is something wrong with this picture. Where is the unity, the meaning, of nature's highest creation? Surely those millions of little streams of accident and willfullness have their correction in the vast underground river which, without a doubt, is carrying us to the place where we're expected. But there is no such place. That's why it's called Utopia."


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Our stage at the Vivian Beaumont after the final performance, May 13, 2007. Taken by Kellie Overbey

Currently listening : Sky Blue Sky By Wilco Release date: 15 May, 2007

11:04 PM - 18 Comments - 38 Kudos - Add Comment

My Interview with Feist Is Up!
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

YAY! The piece what I wrote about Feist is now officially up on MTVNews.com! it's so kewl, I can't even stand it. I am now officially an internetally published myoozick ryter! If you feel the urge, leave a comment on the site and maybe they'll let me write for them again. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee...

Her new record, "The Reminder" is a real work of art, and I'm so thrilled I got to meet her and spend a little time with her. I also got to talk to her collaborator and friend Gonzales, who is hilare and brill and a genius just like she is. The two of them could not have been lovelier to talk to and I hope that comes across in the piece. It's short, and if you've read any of my blahgs, you know that I am nothing if not long-winded and blabby. So I'm not used to having to edit myself and be, um, perfesshunnul when it comes to writing. Hopefully you'll like reading it, and it'll make you want to go out and buy her album. If you do, you will love it. This I guarantee. It's bound to be one of the most important new albums of the year, and within seconds, everyone will know about Feist.

Enjoy!

Feist! on MTVNews.com, by Me

Currently listening : The Reminder By Feist Release date: 01 May, 2007

11:04 AM - 11 Comments - 21 Kudos - Add Comment

Richard and Martha Eat Out - The Movie!
Category: Food and Restaurants

My friend Richard and I have been wanting to make a little movie since 1962, and here's what we came up with finally. I have no idea how to mix sound, edit, film from correct angles or make the fonts the right size in the credits, but it's my first time, so be kind! YAY! Click here: Richard and Martha Eat Out.

We hope you like it!

10:44 AM - 23 Comments - 44 Kudos - Add Comment

OMG, Get OUT! The Rapeman Podcast is Finally Up! Now With Links!!!
Category: Podcast

OMG, YAY! Julian Fleisher's Guilty Pleasures Podcast, which we recorded in 1957, is finally up and available for your listening pleasure on ITunes!!! OMG, i'm so excited. Not only because it's the first podcast I've ever been a part of, but because I get to talk about two of my favorite guilty pleasures, Emmet Miller, minstrel singer extraordinaire, and Rapeman, the hideously good post-punk brainchild of Steve Albini, whom I adore for all sorts of reasons I won't go in to here.

Until I figure out how to embed it into this site, search Julian Fleisher's Guilty Pleasures on ITunes in the Podcast section, and ENJOY! It's ackchally kinda funny. I hope you like it! And if anyone knows how to link to a podcast from ITunes to Myspace, lemme know, wouldja?

here's a link to something that might be something, but i have no idea if it will work. does anyone understand why they give you a "podcast enclosure" thingy but then you do it an there's nothing? me niether.

Julian Fleisher's Guilty Pleasures w/ Martha Plimpton 11/07/06

8:44 PM - 7 Comments - 7 Kudos - Add Comment

I Kinda In A Way Co-Produced This Movie That's Finally Coming Out. Isn't That Weird?
Category: News and Politics

"Hair High", an animated feature film by Bill Plympton (the guy who did the sketch of me that I use for my profile pic), is finally coming out in New York! YAY! I sorta co-produced this movie, kinda, although I haven't been around for a lot of the grueling actual work of getting it sold and distributed. That may never happen and this is why I will never be a major feature film producer - I can't stand the endless nightmare-ish drudgery of it, and have enormous respect for anyone with that kind of patience. But anyways, the movie, after ages and ages of diligent commitment and hard-work by Bill and so many other people, is FINALLY COMING OUT!

It opens for two weeks at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater starting October 18. Here's the link about it: "Hair High" at Two Boots.

I'm really proud to be invovled in this movie for so many reasons, not least of which is, it's a full-length feature animated by hand, every frame, and that's simply not done anymore. It may be the last time Bill is able to do it, actually, so if you see it, you'll be seeing a major piece of work in his ooooooooovreh! It's animation in the "sick and twisted" tradition, vintage Bill Plympton, with lots of ridiculous sex humor and zombie teenagers from the sea taking revenge on horrid people in the 50s.

We got a lot of hilarious people to do voices for it, including Sarah Silverman, Michael Showalter, Eric Gilliland, Ed Begley, Craig Bierko, Beverly D'Angelo, and Zak Orth and they all do brilliant, hilare work in it. It's totally worth seeing if you like weirdo animation from an insane shut-in who draws every single frame like an obessive compulsive and has the sense of humor of a mental patient on acid. Bill is a total genius, in my opinion, so I'm really thrilled that the movie is finally going to be seen the way it should be: on a big screen. On the Lower East Side. Hi.

Everyone who buys a ticket gets a sketch by Bill, by the way. So if you're a fan, that's sort of major, isn't it? I think so. I mean, he animated a video for Kanye West this year. That qualifies him as huge, right?

If anyone reading this ends up going, be sure to write me and tell me what you thought of it!

Thanks so much to everyone for reading my blahg! I will try to give more updates on "The Coast of Utopia" soon. We have our first preview tomorrow and tech has been totally insane, so I haven't really had a minute to breath, lithcrally. But hopefully I'll be able to tell some stories about it soon, like about the time I went to do a quick change, and the zipper on my costuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

10:21 PM - 10 Comments - 9 Kudos - Add Comment

Sky Dining!
Category: Food and Restaurants

At dinner last night, my friend Jon alerted us to a brilliant website that is now officially my favorite thing on the interwebs. www.AirlineMeals.net. It's nothing but photographs of airplane food taken on every airline in the world...and it's fantastic.

..">



This one was taken on an Aero Lloyd (Aero Lloyd, btw) flight from Dusseldorf to Mykonos:

Enjoy!

Currently listening : Let It Die By Feist Release date: 26 April, 2005

5:50 AM - 8 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

Buttscow and St. Boobiesburg
Category: News and Politics

Everyone in Moscow has a great ass and everyone in St. Petersburg has big boobs. The End.

5:41 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

a word about the art...

the drawing in the "about me" section of this profile is of my friend richard and i. it was drawn by our friend craig, who gave it to us for his birthday. i am proud to display it here. it is the greatest thing i have ever received. period.

7:15 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

OMG

that last blog was SO BORAAAAAAAAANG!!!!




Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

hi!

1:30 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment